How to Exercise for Strength Gains & Hormone Optimization | Dr. Duncan French

In this episode, I talk to Dr. Duncan French, Ph.D., the Vice President of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute and a world-class performance specialist. We discuss specific resistance (weight) training regimens for increasing testosterone in men and women and how to vary mechanical loads and rest between sets and workouts to optimize hormone output and training results. We also discuss how stress-induced catecholamines can increase or decrease testosterone depending on duration and mindset. We discuss specific cold and heat therapies for increasing resilience, reducing inflammation, promoting heat shock proteins and more. We discuss nutrition for training and how to match nutrition to training goals and metabolic flexibility. We discuss mental focus and how long to train for skill development. Finally, we discuss how mixed martial arts and the UFC Performance Institute are a template for exploring human performance more generally. This episode is intended for anyone interested in athletic and mental performance: athletes, students and recreational exercisers, and includes both science and many practical tools people can apply in their own training. For an up-to-date list of our current sponsors, please visit our website: https://www.hubermanlab.com/sponsors. Previous sponsors mentioned in this podcast episode may no longer be affiliated with us. Dr. Duncan French: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/dr_duncan_french LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/duncan-french-phd-a41bb9122 Social: Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/hubermanlab Twitter - https://twitter.com/hubermanlab Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/hubermanlab Website - https://hubermanlab.com Newsletter - https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network Timestamps: 00:00:00 Dr. Duncan French 00:02:27 Roka, Helix Sleep, Headspace 00:05:44 Duncan’s Background in Exercise Science 00:11:45 How Certain Exercises Increase Testosterone 00:16:22 What Kind of Training Increases Testosterone & Growth Hormone? 00:20:19 Intensity: Mechanical Load; Volume: Metabolic Load; Inter-set Rest Periods 00:25:25 Training Frequency & Combining Workout Goals 00:29:35 How Stress Can Increase or Decrease Testosterone 00:36:55 Using Cold Exposure for Mindset, Anti-Inflammation, Muscle-Growth 00:46:55 Skill Development 00:50:05 Why Hard Exercise Creates Brain Fog: Role of Nutrition 00:53:55 Low-Carbohydrate Versus All-Macronutrient Diets on Performance 00:56:15 Ketones & Brain Energy, Offsetting Brain Injury; Spiking Glucose During Ketosis 00:59:13 Metabolic Efficiency, Matching Nutrition to Training, “Needs Based Eating” 01:05:00 Duncan’s Work with Olympic Athletes, NCAA, UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) 01:08:00 Why UFC & MMA (Mixed-Martial Arts) Are So Valuable for Advancing Performance 01:12:40 Voluntarily Switching Between Different States of Arousal 01:14:30 Heat, Getting Better at Sweating, Heat Shock Proteins, Sauna 01:20:12 Using Rotating 12-Week Training Programs; Logging Objective & Subjective Data 01:24:07 Surprising & Unknown Aspects of The UFC and UFC Performance Institute 01:27:45 Conclusions, Zero-Cost Support, Sponsors, Supplements, Instagram Please note that The Huberman Lab Podcast is distinct from Dr. Huberman's teaching and research roles at Stanford University School of Medicine. The information provided in this show is not medical advice, nor should it be taken or applied as a replacement for medical advice. The Huberman Lab Podcast, its employees, guests and affiliates assume no liability for the application of the information discussed.

Andrew HubermanhostDr. Duncan Frenchguest

Nov 7, 20211h 30mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Train Smarter: Use Stress, Heat, and Lifting to Maximize Hormones

Andrew Huberman interviews Dr. Duncan French, VP of Performance at the UFC Performance Institute and a PhD in exercise physiology, about how to design training for strength, hypertrophy, and hormone optimization. They explain how resistance training parameters like load, volume, and rest intervals drive acute testosterone and growth hormone responses and long-term adaptations. The conversation also covers stress hormones and arousal, cold and heat exposure, metabolic efficiency and nutrition periodization, and the unique performance demands of mixed martial arts. Throughout, French emphasizes "adaptation-led programming": using science and individual feedback to structure training, recovery, and diet for both elite fighters and everyday exercisers.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

For maximal hypertrophy and testosterone response, prioritize high-intensity, high-volume compound lifting with short rests.

French’s lab used a classic protocol of 6 sets of 10 reps at ~80% of 1RM on multi-joint lifts like back squats with 2-minute rests. This combination of substantial mechanical load (intensity) and high total reps (volume) reliably elevated testosterone and created a strong metabolic stimulus (lactate, glycogenolysis), which drives muscle growth. Extending rest to 3 minutes or more lowers metabolic stress and leads to less hypertrophy, even if the total work is similar.

There is a narrow window between optimal and excessive training volume; more sets are not always better.

French compared 6×10 vs 10×10 at similar intensities. At 10×10, athletes could not maintain the required load, so intensity had to drop, reducing mechanical tension and undermining the hormonal and hypertrophic benefits. This illustrates that past a certain point, adding sets forces intensity down too far and becomes counterproductive. A few very demanding sessions per week (e.g., two 6×10 workouts) are generally sufficient for non-bodybuilders.

Shorter rest intervals increase metabolic stress and growth, even if you must lower the weight.

Humans are naturally inclined to take more rest and preserve performance on each set, but the physiology of muscle growth favors discomfort: shorter rests keep lactate and other metabolites elevated, amplifying anabolic hormone release and hypertrophic signaling. French emphasizes putting ego aside—accept that you may need to reduce the load to complete the reps on time; the internal stimulus matters more than the number on the bar.

Acute stress and arousal can enhance performance and testosterone, but chronic stress is detrimental.

French’s PhD work showed that before a daunting workout, epinephrine and norepinephrine rise in anticipation, and those with the largest catecholamine surge sustain higher force output across the session. Short-term stressors (like a hard lift or even a parachute jump) can transiently elevate testosterone. However, repeated exposure leads to accommodation, and chronic stress without recovery degrades performance and hormones. Learning to deliberately heighten arousal before key efforts, then switch it off afterward, is a key high-performance skill.

Cold exposure can blunt hypertrophy and strength gains if mistimed; use it strategically.

Cold (ice baths, cryotherapy) is a real physiological stressor that triggers sympathetic activation, but at the tissue level it can dampen the mTOR pathway and inflammatory signaling needed for muscle growth and strength adaptations. French notes that cold is best reserved for competition phases, when preserving quality and rapid recovery between performances matters more than building muscle. In heavy training or “off-season” periods focused on hypertrophy, frequent ice baths are likely counterproductive.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

It's an intensity and a volume derivative that is going to be most advantageous for testosterone release.

— Duncan French

We're trying to create a very specific stimulus internal to the body, and that is often driven by the metabolic environment at that moment in time.

— Duncan French

The greater the arousal, the higher the performance was from a physical exertion perspective.

— Duncan French

The best athletes are the ones that consciously and cognitively are aware of it at every moment of the training session.

— Duncan French

At the most elite level, you're not necessarily training harder than anybody else... the best athletes are the ones that can do it again and again and again on a daily basis.

— Duncan French

Hormonal responses to resistance training (testosterone, growth hormone, catecholamines)Programming for hypertrophy, strength, and recovery (sets, reps, rest, frequency)Stress, arousal, and performance (epinephrine, cortisol, psychological preparation)Cold and heat exposure for recovery, adaptation, and weight cuttingMetabolic efficiency and nutrition periodization (carbs, fats, ketogenic approaches)Skill acquisition and neural fatigue in sport trainingUnique performance demands and structure of MMA and UFC Performance Institute

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